AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome - is throught to be caused by a virus called HIV. The HIV virus invades the body and weakens the immune system making the body less able to fight infection. A person that is HIV positive may exhibit no symptoms at all for several or more years. During this time, the HIV infected person is frequently unaware that he or she is HIV positive and passing on the virus to their sexual partners. This is why it is so important to get tested frequently if you are sexually active.
Ultimately, when the immune system has become sufficiently compromised, HIV positive people become the targets of opportunistic infections such as certain cancers or pneumonia. People do not die of AIDS, they die because the virus makes their body so weak that they can not fight off the opportunistic infections any longer.
Did you know that:
- The highest instances of HIV infection is among heterosexuals between the ages of 14 and 22!
- AIDS is the number one killer of all men between the ages of 25 and 44, surpassing even automobile accidents, cancer and violent deaths
- Drugs and alcohol suppress our natural inhibitions regarding sex and impair good judegment when it comes to taking risks.
- ANYONE WHO IS SEXUALLY ACTIVE IS AT RISK!
